POMONA – Two men were sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for shooting to death a 19-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy as the victims sat in a van in West Covina in 2009.

Juan Anda, 25, of Baldwin Park, and co-defendant Gerardo Fonseca Jr., 22, of Arcadia were convicted in February of killing Jason Guijarro, 19, and Isaac Alexis Parra, 17, both of Baldwin Park, as they sat in the van near Leland and Merced avenues.

Along with first-degree murder, the Anda and Fonseca were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and the special allegation of multiple murders.

At the time of the shooting, Fonseca was dating Melissa Ann Goree, 20, who originally was charged in the shootings but was acquitted.

Goree’s ex-boyfriend was inside the van with the victims but was unhurt.

Defense attorneys had argued that Anda and Fonseca acted in self-defense, believing the victims had weapons in their car.

The attorneys asked for a new trial, claiming additional evidence would show Anda and Fonseca were provoked before the shooting. They also cited inconsistent and “perjured” testimony by witnesses for the prosecution.

“It’s simply my position that the verdicts are contrary to the law,” said Grady Russell, attorney for Fonseca.

Judge Robert Martinez denied the motion.

“The court finds that the verdicts were supported by convincing evidence,” he said. “It’s apparent the jury rejected the claim of self-defense.”

Michael Balmer, who represented Anda, said he plans to appeal.

“The jury doesn’t really know what happened that night, because they don’t have credible witnesses to tell them what happened,” he said.

Brian Day has covered crime and breaking news for the Southern California News Group since 2007. He’s a graduate of California State University, Fullerton and Cerritos College in Norwalk. He loves dogs and has a pet German shepherd, which in turn, has a pet cat. Brian is a local news junkie, a licensed drone pilot and a part-time science geek with an unfortunate predilection for puns.